Why I Threw the Berenstain Bears in the Garbage

So I'm reading the Berenstain Bears to my little boy the other day and couldn't make it through the whole book without trowing it in the garbage. Yes, that's right. I threw the Berenstain Bears in the garbage.

The storyline went something like this: Baby bears were watching too much television and eating too much junk food. Mama Bear notices this is becoming a habit for her children. She also notices they are getting a little overweight. So, like a good mother, she turns off the TV and throws away all junk food in the house. She then instructs the children to go outside to play.

So far so good.

Well, Papa Bear comes home and heads straight for the refrigerator. He asks, "Where's my soda?" Mama Bear replies, "It's gone. I threw it away." Then Papa Bear goes over to the cupboard looking for some cookies. He doesn't find any. Mama Bear says, "Yep, threw those away too." Disappointed, PB goes to the television and is quickly told it is not allowed anymore." Even more disappointed, PB bends down to get something off of the floor, and RIP!, his pants tear because, just like the kids, Papa has gained one-too-many pounds.

The moral of the story was decent enough - Resist the temptation to watch television and eat junk food all day. Playing outside is a good alternative.

But there was another message that went something like this - Papa Bear is a goofball and is just another child that Mama Bear has to manage and instruct, because she ultimately has to rule the roost.

This book is just another indication that our culture has no clue about true manhood or masculinity. Examples of manhood range from the Bundy's (when I was growing up) - Al being the lazy, uncaring, father with one hand down his pants and a remote in the other. Then there is Raymond, the clueless and careless man-child who serves more as an object of laughter than a leader. People may love him, but they'd never follow him.

Then there are the athletes - oh, the hailed athletes, who are honored and glorified more for the strength of their bodies than of their character. UFC is on a come-up as well, a man is someone who can beat the crap out of another.

The pendulum swings to the other end of the spectrum as well. When men don't wear pads or boxing gloves, they wear pink sweaters and become another voice on The View concerning decorating or hair styling. Please excuse the expression and receive the point.

From being overly masculine (which is not really masculine at all) to more feminine, manhood is completely distorted in our day. Rarely do we find in the media a faithful husband, who loves, protects, and provides for his family, friends, and enemies. Rarely do we see a man relating in a godly way to women - rather, we get men who act like women or totally take advantage of them.

You have to wonder why athletic masculinity is always accompanied with women in bathing suits (from cheerleaders, to the girls who walk around with a sign that says, "Round 2."). It's an indication that men aren't portrayed at all, but cave-men.

Men are either dominating women, or being dominated by them.

And the worldview is promoted at an early age. Even with the Berenstain Bears.

Why I Dislike the Word "Journey" as a Description of the Christian Life

This past Saturday, my wife and I were without three of our four children. The in-laws took em. Given this "freedom" I was ready for a nice day of rest. My wife, on the other hand, was ready for something else. While I had sleeping on my mind, she had shopping on hers. Christmas shopping. Dang.

Needless to say, she got her way :) As we were on our way to the first store, I looked over and asked her the very important question, "What's the plan?"

I cannot handle shopping without a plan. I need a goal - an end in sight. Something to keep us focussed and to keep us from wandering around the stores from one sale sign to the next. If I am going to endure shopping, I need to know that it will be over in the future. Shopping for me is a mission.

She was reluctant to give the plan. Why? Because shopping for her (that day) was a journey.

There is a huge difference.

Missions have goals that, once accomplished, the mission is over. Men and women are able to endure all sorts of hardship, suffering (I'm shifting from the shopping analogy at this point), and tribulation, as long as they know these things will end once their goal is reached.

This is why Christian hope is necessary for enduring sacrificial living.

People on a mission have little patience for journeying.  It doesn't make sense walking unless we are walking somewhere. Without an end in sight, there is only wandering - sometimes for years...in circles.

As we travel through this world, we always long to know where we are going? If the answer from our leadership is unclear, then they are not really leading. And as followers, we quickly become hopeless grumblers, rather than obedient soldiers.

This is why I have a distaste for the word journey as a description of the Christian life and faith. The only good example of a journeying people in the Scriptures is the children of Israel in the wilderness. They were journeying because they were rebellious, refusing to follow the leadership God provided. They longed for Egypt and had little hope in the Land of Promise.

This is why a lack of Christian hope produces a life of little to no sacrificial endurance.

We must also pay attention to the context and content of Moses' exhortations to the second generation. In an effort to keep them from the patterns of their parents, he kept the goal in front of them - urging them to obediently follow the Lord's commandments as he led them across the Jordan, into the Promised Land.

The crossing of the Jordan and the conquest of the Land was no journey. It was a mission. Joshua was a leader, not a wanderer. He had a clear command, motivation, and goal (Joshua 1). His leadership produced soldiers, who knew and expected the conquest to be tough. But they also knew it'd be worth it because of the end.

Similarly, the Christian life is a mission, lead by Christ's commands, empowered by his Spirit, and motivated by the inheritance he has purchased and promised. We must always be looking and hoping for what is ahead.

When the Christian asks, "Where are we going?" Christ's answer is clear, not ambiguous. The Word of God is a relatively small book with clear instructions, intrinsic power, and hopeful promises.

Disclaimer: I understand that there are some temporary situations in the Christian life that may be accurately described as a journey. However, it should not be a description that is allowed to stick around too long. People quickly lose heart.

Disclaimer 2: I am not saying that those who shop are journeyers in the Christian life. I used shopping only as an analogy :) If you know of a way that I can rightly judge all journey-shopping as inappropriate for the Christian life, please tell me! I am looking for any excuse to outlaw the practice.

Encouragement for the Christian: Hope in heaven. Attentively listen to Christ's commands. With the power he provides, make it your mission to love like crazy.